Crenshaw Extension

12-18 It was raining  off and on on this Saturday and we had a large group of members that showed up for the run day but there were only 2  public riders, a father and son that came out for a ride in the rain.

The rain let up and the sun started to come out  so we pulled out the flat cars and loaded up the 6 20 foot track panels, added a few riding cars for members, then headed out for the rail head. As we were riding out the Crenshaw line we passed Mark J walking back for some lunch. He told us that he had been working on clearing the wood chips and was getting close to the turn table site.

When we got to the rail head we unloaded the track and set the straight panels in place and set the bent ones to the side. This was the first time to the new end of the line for a few of the SCLS members and they were very impressed with how it was all coming together. They are looking forward to running all the way to the end when we get done.

We all headed back for some chili and corn bread made by Daisy and Robert and it sure was good. After lunch Mark J, Phil C, myself  Tom D and the boys Wyatt and Blake headed out to the rail head. Mark got to work clearing to the turntable the boys worked on clearing from the switch back towards the windshield wiper table after Mark showed them how to do it the right way. I pulled a lot of the big weeds as the ground was soft from the rain then went to work getting the panels lined up for the turn table.

I found I need to weld up some more track panels so that I can play with lining up the two tracks. Tim B was asking how long the turntable would be and after some head scratching we decided I'm going to try to fit a 22 foot long table in. We may try to get a little longer when we get to setting it all up as Tim seemed to think his loco and support cars will be right at 22 feet long as a unit that will have to be turned all at one time. Man that 3 3/4" scale stuff is big.

Well we worked till it just got raining too hard and man it got muddy fast but fun for the boys. Still working on getting more ballast stone dropped at the club in the next few weeks.
 


Edited by administrator - Dec 19 2010 at 5:16pm

On Wednesday  Tom D got back out to the club and welded up 6 more panels, 120feet total and hauled them out to the rail head and set them out. There are 6 more left to weld up at some point soon.

On Saturday Mark J when out and cut down about 1/2 of the tree stump that is in the way of  the, soon to be built, turn table. Since we got the new tie stock in Steve C and Tom D were side tracked on getting the track panels built and set down for the two new parking sidings on the inner loop. We got 150 feet down for the weekend total. 


Edited by administrator - Jan 03 2011 at 12:10am

1-16-11 On Sunday Tom D. welded up four of the last six 20 foot track panels and Phil happily had his last go around with knocking the pins lose on the end of the panels. Steve was busy building 15' track panels out of aluminum rail and plastic ties for other projects on the steaming bays, so the welding was done on the transfer table and then loaded on the flat cars. It turned out to be a lot less lifting and in turn much easier on or backs this way [too bad we didn't do this sooner!].

Phil and Tom after fixing a bad rail joint at the gate, took the four panels down to just past the "Mistletoe Tunnel" and set them in place on the opposite side of the old right of way, on the new road bed cleared  few weeks back.

We then went to the spot were the turntable will be and did some measuring and head scratching and it looks like we will have a 23 foot turntable at the end of the two tracks for the locos and their support cars to turn on. This will be a large turntable for a live steam railroad, but we need it for the 3 3/4" scale RMI type locos we have at the club and we are thinking it will stand out and be easier  for people riding by in cars on Crenshaw Blvd. to see.

So now the plan is to put a 12' aluminum track panel just before the turntable as that will make it easier to adjust the track leads to mach up with the turntable. Phil and Tom then loaded up three 20 steel panels left there and ran them back up the line to the return track rail head.

We are now about 50 feet from the windshield wiper turn table so we are thinking we may use some of Steve's new track panels to get the return track tied back in. At some point we will replace this with new steel panels that we are planing to make.

Phil and Tom then went back and wielded up one more 20' panel and made two short 5 foot panels and one long 15 foot panel that have pins on one end and joint straps weld to the other end so the alum rail can be bolted on to it. These will be used for the turn table leads and to go just before the switch on the return track that goes in to the main line switch by the windshield wiper table. That is the last of the steel rail on hand we got from Jerry B.

Well good news! We have lots of ballast rock now, Tom D got an old sprint car racing friend, Steve Alexander, who has a 15 ton 10 wheel dump truck to drop 4 loads of crushed recycled cement base with a plan for a few more loads to be dropped soon. We used to get this stone for free but now we are paying around $120.00 per load which is still a very good deal and Steve is hauling it to us for free! So A BIG THANK YOU TO STEVE ALEXANDER for his helping us get this stone as I was starting to think this project was going to not get done.

At the club meeting the members voted $1000.00 for ballast. We will now have a good supply on hand for the many little projects that go on at the club that need this stone to be completed. A thank you to the members as well.

Well the boy scouts should be out in two weeks to do a lot of ballasting of track so in the next few weeks I'm going to try to get all the new track and stuff they will need ready for them so we get the most out of there help.

Tom Downing

Edited by administrator - Jan 17 2011 at 11:24am

2-2-11 Well it was quite a weekend for the railroad as Wyatt Comon, who was working on his Eagle Scout project along with his boyscout friends and their families got a lot of ballasting done. We have been planing this weekend for sometime, so it was good to see it all turn out well.

Tom D built two large end dump cars using two car frames he had built for riding cars, but hadn't made the seat part yet, so that worked out well. On Friday Tom took the cars out to the club and then fixed the two older end dump boxes so they had doors on them to insure that the ballast wasn't falling on to the tracks and derailing cars as this has happened in the past.

This gave us 4 big cars for ballasting for one train and then we had a old small side dump club car, two old club work gons, and two of Rory's 4' bottom dump hopper cars for train #2.

Tom spent some time going threw the yard switches cleaning, lubing and adjusting so there would hopefully be less derailing of which there has been alot of lately in the yard. Tom then went out to the end of Crenshaw and shimmed under every third tie and on both sides of the joint ties on the return track and where needed on the inbound track.

On Saturday Wyatt, his mom and dad Mark met Phil, Tom, Mark J, and Howie at 8 am to get set up for the ballasting of Crenshaw it looked to be a nice day in the high 60's and sunny. Mark J. pulled his SD45 out and pulled the 4 big end dump cars around and Tom used the club tractor to fill them up.

By this time there were 5-6 scouts ready to work so we went to where the new steel rail starts on Crenshaw and Tom gave the scouts a quick demo on how to ballast track and tamp as needed. Tom went back to run the tractor to load train #2. Howie stayed with the scouts to lend a hand, answer any questions and work the radio to help keep the trains lined up at the rail head. By the time Tom got back to the tractor Phil had the club SW1500 fixed as it had to have a new piece made for the control rod so it was easier to run.

Tom filled Phil's train and he headed out to the rail head. Looking at the pile of ballast we had on hand I was thinking we didn't have enough, but it turned out we had just the right amount to get the job done.

All went well and as the day passed more scouts and their families came and left but they had a good size crew all day. They stopped for a hot dog and fixin's lunch provided by SCLS and made by Robbert, and man them hotlinks where good!

After a few more train fulls of ballast, one of the scout twisted his ankle,  when we were loading at about 3:30 so it was a good time to call it quits the day.  By this point they had got the track ballasted all the way to the end where the turntable will go and started on the return track.


On Sunday we got started about 9:00 am and it was starting to rain lightly on and off and cool down to the low 60's to high 50's. We added one of the big cars to train #2 so the unloading times would be closer to the same. After Howie knocked in the last four pins on the last two steel panel's and the return track was ballasted Tom came and looked over the ballasting job and had just a few low spots that had to be lifted and more ballast added, otherwise it looked to be a nice job done by the scouts.

Today we had Rory running the tractor loading the trains so that freed up Tom and Steve to look at lining and leveling of the track as the scouts ballasted it. By mid morning the boy scouts moved back down Crenshaw to ballast the new track installed last week by the gate and red car. This went much faster as the run time for the trains was cut in haft and it looked like there was more scouts on hand to work.

It seemed like lunchtime came up fast so Wyatt's mom ran out and got pizza for the large crew on hand. After lunch we broke the crews in to two groups and tom took some of the scouts and had them do regrading under the trees and ballasting of the new parking siding on the back of the inner loop.

Boy on this day the weather was changing by the minute it would be sunny then start to mist or rain and would be doing the opposite thing just a few hundred feet away but the scouts worked right on through it and as boys do at times, seemed to like the challenge of it.

At about 1:30 the scouts were done and were off to get some train rides behind the club steamer and Tim's big 3 3/4" steamer. A few tried there hand at the throttle  and it was a well deserved reward for all of their hard work.

After the scouts left Tom, Howie and Rory graded, set,aligned and ballasted the two switches to the parking sidings and did a little aligning and leveling of the one siding that was ballasted so they could try it out with a train. Mark, Charlie, and Phil got all the work cars put away which was a bit of work as some had to be taken apart in order to be stored away until next time.

Well the weekend total was around 75 tons of ballast moved by train and dropped by hand. Which gave us about 1600-1700 feet of track all ballasted and aligned. We will need to go back and do some more aligning and leveling in the next few months as all this new track starts to set in.

Next tom will build the switch for the return track by the windshield wiper turntable and 3 more for the cross over and siding by the red car. We are looking at and starting to plan for a 23 foot gallows type turntable made of steel for the end of Crenshaw. Man, this will be a looker for all the train nuts out there if all goes well.

A big thank you gos out to Wyatt Comon, his family and the Scouts of Troop 586 for all their hard work and their donation of $775.00 dollars, which will go a long ways in helping pay for the ballast to be brought out to the club.

Wow! What a weekend, now I'm going to get a good rest for a week and then get right back at it.

Tom D


Edited by administrator - Feb 02 2011 at 11:28pm

Saturday 2-12-11 Mark, Tom and Dale went down to the end of Crenshaw with the club tractor and pulled the big stump out of the ground that Mark has been working on for a few weeks now. Mark had a big chain and we picked up the stump and hauled it back to the windshield wiper and set it down  there. In this location its out of the way and is something to look at. We may cut it up and haul it away at a later time.

After pulling the big sump out, Tom worked with the tractor filling the hole left from the stump and then removing 3 more smaller stumps. At this point we stopped as the ground was getting soft and we were thinking the tractor would get stuck.

We are thinking we will get some rain this week which should harden up the ground and we can go back and get the turn table spot cleared of all the wood chips and stuff so we can start to lay out the ring rail for the turn table.

After talking to Phil at this point were thinking the turntable will be six feet wide and 22.6 feet long with the top of the gallows cross bar 6.6 feet high. Next I will have to do a little fund drive to get money for this project. I am thinking it will take 3 or 4 hundred dollars to get the turntable built.

A few weeks back we had a visit from Terry Woolsey from Wichita, Kansas to see for himself all of the work done on projects at the club. He said that he has been fallowing us on the forum and liked what he saw. Thanks for the pat on the back Terry.

I will start a new post on the work we did on Sunday at the club as it didn't have any thing to do with Crenshaw so check it out as it is the start of a interesting project.

That's all for now. Tom D   


Edited by administrator - Feb 14 2011 at 9:23am